By The Way
by Link Worshiper
Summary: Both Heero and Duo have something special to tell one another on tonight's date, but with their luck, of course Relena wants to keep Heero as far away from Duo as she can. Based loosely off the RHCP video and written for the Spring03 Moments contest. 1x2


  
**By the Way  
Shannon the Twisted Link Worshiper **  
  
Author's Ramble: Yes, so it really is official — I am flunking out of school for your sakes! That's okay though; I find writing ultimately more fulfilling than making superficial grades for a bunch of cranky old teachers. Yeah, like I said, _huge_ mistake ever making me read _The Catcher in the Rye_. In any case, this idea sort of came to me one day while watching the video to one of my favourite bands' new songs. The song (_By the Way_) belongs to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The anime (by the way) is Gundam Wing, and it belongs to Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. I happen to not belong to any of the afore mention groups, so don't sue. Blah, it's a depressing thought, I know, but I'm not creative enough to think of my own stuff. And (by the way), the POV shifts between Heero and Duo between every blob of lyrics, in case you get confused. It is a 1x2x1 and a Relena-bashing to the max (by the way — is this joke old yet?) if you haven't already guessed.   
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
_[Standing in line to see the show tonight,  
And there's a light on — heavy glow.  
By the way I tried to say I'd be there,  
Waiting for.  
Dani the girl is singing songs to me  
Beneath the marquee — overload!]  
  
  
_I glanced down at my watch. The small hand rested a tiny bit after the black six at the bottom of the watch's white face, the large hand settled somewhere between the ten and the eleven as the second hand raced around the circle, dutifully ticking off the counts until the next minute. At present it was precisely 6:53p.m. just as the thin little hand sped past the twelve. If I left in two minutes, I would make it to the appointed street café right on schedule and five minutes early to boot at exactly 7:25p.m. though I figured that I might as well add on ten to account for his usual tendency to be late.   
  
I pulled the leather black strap free of its silver buckle and tightened the watch around my slender wrist, just for lack of anything else to do with those next two minutes. Then I rolled the loose cuff of my dark blue dress shirt all the way over my wrist, covering my watch and left the slightly long sleeve hanging over my fingers unbuttoned. Glancing up I examined my appearance for the last time before heading out the door, slicking a hand through my unruly dark brown hair, though the spiky tufts of deep mahogany never failed to fall back into their usual disorderly style, despite the gesture.   
  
As my eyes roved over my reflection, I could not help but note that even I found myself impressed with my appearance. My slight frame was outfitted in the snugly fitting dark blue silk shirt with un-tucked tails that hung over my hips and sleeves that fell long over my wrist, a slender black tie around my neck and tucked under my partially unbuttoned collar. My legs were covered by the nicest pair of black pants I owned, my feet shoed in a pair of black loafers. I cocked my head, thinking for one moment that I might understand why _he_ thought I was handsome before discarding the thought aside and shaking my head regretfully, wondering why I even bothered with such a silly and inane thought.   
  
6:54p.m. I figured I might as well start for the door so I could be well on my way at the desired target time. I retreated from the dark confines of my bedroom, wondering if perhaps he would come back with me afterwards, or if I would end up crashing at his place again. Decided that it really didn't matter so much as either way I'd be sleeping with him, I walked to the front door of my apartment and slid the deadbolt back, stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind me. I twisted my key in the lock and secured the place, pocketed the little silver implement and took the stairs down to the lobby of my building two at a time. Even though I had to hike all the way down from the fifth floor, I didn't really mind the exercise and waiting for the elevator would have set me at least two to three minutes behind schedule.   
  
Right on time, I was on the street right outside of my building, watching the cars zoom by in search of a cab. I was so busy looking for one of the bright yellow cars that I did not even notice it when a gaudy pink sedan pulled up to the curb a few feet from where I was standing until it was a couple seconds too late. The annoyingly fake and sugary voice interrupted my intake of the roaring city sounds around me and pulled me from my current task of hailing a taxi.   
  
"Heero!" Relena called out, leaning out the rolled down window beside the driver's seat, her voice almost sickeningly sweet. I resisted the temptation to shove my finger down my throat and make myself gag. Too much time with _him_ had made me a little more cynical towards situations, and neither of us could really determine if my newfound deadpan sense of humour was a good thing or not.   
  
"Relena," I acknowledged politely, turning around and giving her a slight nod of my head in greeting. I could feel my cheeks stinging with all the trouble it was taking for me to feign being nice to her when I had much more important things to get to on the other side of town. It was one thing during the war when she and us five Gundam pilots were one small little band versus a band of so many more. But now that the war was all over and done with, it was time for her to let go of my hand and start making it on her own. I felt like an abused big brother or or _something_.   
  
"Heero, where are you heading? Are you busy right now?" she inquired innocently, though I could hear the ulterior motives laced into her voice. After listening to such questions many a time in my life before, I had grown rather immune to her tactics and her frilly words failed to make me stop and think anymore. I really wished she could get over her crush on me and figure out I had _no_ interest whatsoever; that I was already taken and spoken for.   
  
"Kind of," I grunted evasively, noting to my dismay that an empty taxi had just shot by. It was already nineteen seconds till 6:56p.m. I was going to be late if this kept up!   
  
"Oh really?" she chirped, her hands curling over the door of her car.   
  
"Honto ni," I sighed, turning my head slightly so I could roll my eyes without her noticing. Another taxi happened by and I mentally kicked myself. "Really, I have to get going. I have a time to make."   
  
"You do? Where are you going?" She was being too inquisitive, digging too much into my affairs. That was her problem — her nosiness. That's what had gotten her into trouble with me — among others — during the war and was going to get her _killed_ right now if she didn't keep off. At least she hadn't been nosy enough to find out about me and me and _him_ not yet anyway. "You sure looked spiffed up for _some_thing," she added, lowering her eyelids slightly. Though I am not a good judge of female sensuality by any means, I think she was trying to come off as sexy or tempting or something of that nature I think. But you know, if I was straight, or even bisexual, I don't think that I would have found the maneuver very attractive at all anyway.   
  
I sighed, turning to face her vehicle again and noting to myself that it really _was_ the ugliest coloured car I had ever seen in my life. It was an old vintage Bentley (nice expensive jobs those things can be) and I guessed she had paid a pretty penny for it. I wondered if she even _knew_ what a nice car that Bentley was in the first place. I sniggered to myself, guessing that she probably didn't even understand what she had and there was a good chance someone else had recommended it for her, as she never struck me as someone that would be very fanciful of machines. Or maybe she had simply picked it on the grounds of it being that that horrible shade of pink that she seemed to like so much. It wasn't even a _nice_ pink. It was just downright disgusting. But I wondered why anyone spending so much money on a car would waste all that cash on one that wasn't even a nice colour.   
  
"I'm going to meet Duo for dinner," I answered, pushing the distracting thoughts away and filing them in the back of my brain to discuss with _him_ over a cup of wine that night, knowing that was the sort of thing he enjoyed talking about. I made a show of taking a look at the time, saying, "And I'm late by almost two minutes now."   
  
I had meant that as a roundabout way of suggesting that I was finished with the conversation and was ready to be on my way, but she was not about to let me go so easily. I guess I should have known that. "Dinner with Duo?" she stated for confirmation, her face suddenly growing bland.   
  
"Yes, _Duo_," I returned, my voice perhaps a little more biting than it needed to have been, but I was in a rush, so I forgave it. "We're going to have dinner and then we're going to the movies, so if you don't mind, I have to be going so I can get there in time for us to eat and make it to the show on time."  
  
That mutual expression suddenly melted away, her face growing disgustingly bright again. Much as it bothered me, I sort of preferred that annoyed expression on her face. It made her look less fake. "Well if you need to be there, let _me_ drive you!" she exclaimed, reaching down as if she meant to open the car door. "That way you won't have to pay for a taxi."   
  
"Iie, iie," I insisted, waving my hands frantically in front of my face in a fit of nervousness. I would sooner spend every penny to my name for the most expensive cab in town if it meant _not_ riding in the same vehicle as _her_. And like hell I would be caught dead in such a repulsive _pink_ car, never _mind_ that it was a Bentley! "I can't impose," I threw in desperately.   
  
"No, I _insist_, it's _no_ problem _what_soever," she protested, opening her door and stepping out onto the curb. I was unconsciously taking a few steps backwards as if to escape her, but she proved faster than I had expected and was suddenly grasping me tightly by the wrists before I had realized what had happened. Next thing I knew, she was tugging me in the direction of her awful car and wrenching open the backdoor. She practically pushed me inside, making me land strangely on my side as she slammed the door after me. She climbed into the driver's seat and closed her own door, any signs of the sadistic Relena I had just seen gone without a trace. She merrily looked between the two front seats at me lying there, still on my side and feeling very much a captive, and said in a far to happy voice, "Now, where are we going?"   
  
_[Steak knife; card shark.  
Con job; boot cut.]  
  
[Skin that flick.  
She's such a little DJ.  
Get there quick by street but not the freeway,  
Turn that truck to make a little leeway.  
Beat that nic but not the way that we play.]  
  
[Dog town; blood bath.  
Rib cage; spot tail.]  
  
7:15p.m Not bad_, I told myself as I sauntered down the street, the French café I was supposed to meet Heero at in my sights. It was one of our favourite little places, sitting there on the corner of 8th and Zephyr Street. Its outside was of dark brown wood with big windows that proclaimed the place's name in gold and white lettering. The awnings were red and also were emblazoned with the words _Mon Ami Gabi'_. A little bit of the sidewalk had been claimed by the little restaurant for outdoor dining, the area of elegant little tables sectioned off from the rest of the pavement by an iron fence. I walked over and slouched into my usual spot at our usual table, ordered my usual drink from our usual waitress and waited for my usual date.   
  
Tonight was going to be special, I had decided. Yeah, sure, Heero and I had been going out and doing more and more together, our closeness manifesting so much that we kissed every now and then and held hands in public. On top of that, we had gotten to this point where we never ever slept without the other at the very _least_ in the same room, most often in the same bed, be it his or mine. But I had decided at the beginning of the week that I was going to let Heero know that I wanted to be so much more than to be on a just extremely-close-friends-with-benefits basis. I often wondered if he wanted that something more from me as well and though I feared being cut off from him forever, I had made up my mind that tonight I would close my eyes, pray for luck and present my heart to him on a silver platter.   
  
So in preparation for what would probably come down to being the most important evening of my life, I had dressed to kill. Well maybe not _kill_ per se, but most definitely to send someone into a comma. I was clad in a white shirt with an open seventies-style collar that I had purposely buttoned up irregularly and had only half tucked into my slack black bellbottoms, a loose black ribbon like the one that tailed off my braid hung around my neck. Fastened around my waist with a huge safety pin in addition to the pants was a red and black plaid kilt that fell to my mid-thigh. Over top of the white shirt was a short black vest with furry brown lapels and pockets that matched the plaid of my kilt. A pair of black ankle-boots with two large golden buckles on each foot and a black choker with a clasp that matched those on my shoes completed the look. Fuck yeah, I looked damn sexy, if I did say so myself. I would _definitely_ want to rape myself if I could.   
  
My drink arrived and I sat patiently sipping on the cool sangria as I waited for Heero to show up. It took me about two glasses and a glance at my watch later to start to worry. It was 7:24p.m. already and there was still no sign of Heero. Granted he wasn't safely late until after 7:30, but I knew he had a nasty habit of being uber-early, even if he knew that _I_ had a habit of not showing up until at least fifteen minutes _after_ our designated time. But that was usually because I was too busy obsessing over whether or not I looked good enough for him. It was a kind of surreal experience sitting there alone at the table waiting for _him_, instead of the other way around.   
  
Our waitress came back around, looking to see if I needed a refill. But when she saw me sitting there by myself, leaning on my elbows, head cradled in my hands as I sucked lazily at my straw, staring blankly off into space, she got a little bit concerned. She knew Heero and I both by name and was fairly familiar with our habits so it also struck _her_ as odd that I was waiting by myself. "What's up, Duo?" she asked, kneeling down beside the table, resting her folded arms on the flat top and laying her chin in the nest they formed. "Is he not coming tonight?"   
  
"Oh he's coming, he's coming," I assured her, the straw still in my mouth. I slurped up the last bit of liquid from the bottom of the glass and hiccuped a little, starting to feel a bit tipsy. I had forgotten how much alcohol went into one of those sangrias. "Well," I sighed, looked at her sideways, "he was supposed to be here. He's never been late before."   
  
"There's a first time for everything," she said, trying to sound optimistic. "Maybe something happened to him."   
  
"Yeah," I sighed, handing her my empty glass as if to silently ask for a reload of my poison. "Maybe."   
  
_[Standing in line to see the show tonight,  
And there' s a light on — heavy glow.  
By the way I tried to say I'd be there,  
Waiting for.]  
  
_"Uh, Relena, you're heading the wrong way," I commented dryly, noting that the street numbers were going higher instead of decreasing, indicating she was heading _out_ of town, the complete opposite direction of Duo's and my little French café.   
  
"Don't you worry," she replied airily, glancing up in the rearview mirror to look at me. I noted dismally that she was doing that far more than necessary and for an instant, I regretted dressing so nicely. If it weren't for the fact that I was meeting Duo, I would have donned the look of a slob. Damn, if she got us killed because she was too busy staring at me instead of paying attention to the road and I couldn't go see Duo, I'd _kill_ her again.   
  
"Oh I'm worried," I returned sarcastically, leaning moodily on the armrest on the door and staring out the window, counting the street signs that brought me further and further from Duo as they passed.   
  
"Well you shouldn't be," she said, her voice sounding pinkly evil. The sound of it sent shivers running through my entire body. "I'm trying to avoid traffic with this shortcut I know. You'll get there on time."   
  
I rolled my eyes, seriously doubting that fact. I glanced at my watch and frowned as the minute hand ticked over top of the numeral seven. "I'm _already_ late," I said sourly. "It had better be a damn good shortcut."   
  
"It is, it is," she insisted, that creepy pink (there really is no other word for it) tone filling her voice again. She glanced up in the mirror again and I could feel my fingers subconsciously curling into fists every time she did so. "If you're already late, Duo won't mind if you're just a little bit longer now will he?"   
  
"Oh he'll mind," I snapped, though I knew that probably wasn't true. He would worry, no doubt, but he wouldn't necessarily _mind_. "I've never been late to meet him before," I explained, hoping that it would make her angry enough to stop the car and let me out. She could be fickle and jealous like that.   
  
"Well he should know not to be spoiled and share once in a while," was her answer, which, I might add, made little to no sense to me. She gripped the steering wheel, leaning forward and practically leering at the road as I felt the car increase its speed. Now I've never been one to be frightened easily, but riding in the backseat of a speeding car with _Relena_ at the wheel was enough to scare even _me_. Now that's saying something. I unconsciously found myself groping for a seatbelt.   
  
"What are you doing?" she asked me a few streets later. In a stroke of brilliance, I had remembered my cell phone and had dug it out of my pocket. She glanced back at me in the rearview mirror to watch me as I flipped the little silver communication device and started deftly punching in the numbers that made up Duo's cell number.  
  
"What's it look like?" I said snidely, raising the phone to my ear when I had finished dialing. "I'm calling Duo to let him know that you're taking me and that I'll be late."   
  
"Stop _worrying_!" she commanded, slamming her foot on the brake for the first red light she'd bothered to stop at, sending me jolting forward, the phone careening out of my hand with the sudden jerk. It was funny that Miss Politics up there found that she was above everyday traffic laws and only had to stop for red lights when she either felt like it or wanted to stop her obsessions from getting in touch with their safe and sane contacts with the outside world.   
  
"Can I have my cell back?" I asked, leaning between the two front seats, holding out my hand expectantly. She did a good job of ignoring me, her eyes focused on the stop light as her right hand groped around her feet where my cell phone had decided to land. She picked up the little gadget and threw it into the glove compartment in front of the passenger seat, a blatant kick in the face. About then was when I realized I was really in trouble and figured I would not be seeing Duo in the near future.   
  
"Not funny, Relena," I scolded angrily, my usual nasal monotone bearing the slightest hints of emotion and distress. Usually the only one I bothered to speak to animatedly was Duo, being as he was such a colourful person himself. It was kind of hard _not_ to around him. I really hope he realized what an effect he had on me and how different he made me feel from others. Despite my different behaviour around him, I still had trouble telling him things, and that was one of them.   
  
Among so many, many others.   
  
Including the fact that I.   
  
Without warning, the light changed and she slammed on the gas, the sudden rush of speed flattening me against the backseat and succeeding in cutting off my train of thought. "It's rude to make a call on your phone when you're in the company of someone else," Relena preached righteously from the front seat, waving a finger around airily. "When you're in _my_ car, you are polite and you speak to _me_."   
  
"Oh," I grumbled. "Please ex_cuse_ my rudeness."   
  
_[Black jack; dope dick.  
Pawn shop; quick pick.]  
  
[Kiss that dyke,  
I know you want to hold one.  
Not on strike but I'm about to bowl one.  
Bite that mic,   
I know you never stole one.   
Girls that like a story so I told one.]  
  
[Song bird; main line.  
Cash back; hard top.]  
  
_"This is getting" — I hiccuped, my voice slurred and drunk even to my own ears — "ridiculous." My eyes were glazed and could hardly focus on the blurry sight of the tall glass of sangria that dominated my window of vision. Blindly, I groped for the cool glass, almost toppling it over with my clumsy fingers. "What _happened_ to him?" I hiccuped again and swallowed a low burp. "He would at least call." I stared blearily up at my waitress, who was starting to eye me with a worried air. I glanced back at my glass and realized that it was almost empty. I pointed at it expectantly, not even bothering to lift my head from the folded cushion of my arms.   
  
"Uh, Duo, maybe I'll get you a nice glass of juice instead," she suggested, reaching to take the glass.   
  
I glared at her.   
  
"I'll even let you have it free," she added tucking it behind her back.   
  
I pushed myself up onto my elbows and glared harder. One plus about hanging with Heero every waking moment of my life was that I had plenty of time to sharpen my death stare. I think I've been getting pretty good at it. It even works on _Heero_ sometimes. "I want another sangria," I ordered, digging into my pocket for my wallet. I brandished a twenty at her, my voice still quite slurred. "Am I speaking your language now. Just get me a whole pitcher."   
  
"No, you're not," the waitress replied tartly. "You could offer me every last penny in your pocket and I would _not_ bring you any more alcohol. Look at you! You're beyond smashed, Duo."   
  
"Am not!" The hiccup that followed the assertion didn't do much for my case. "I can hold my alcohol _extreme_ly well, thanks. Six glasses of sangria is hardly" — yet another annoying hiccup — "cause for alarm."   
  
"Duo, not even _Heero_ can get through six glasses of sangria without getting a _little_ tipsy," the waitress chided, shaking the glass at me, little droplets flying off the rim and splattering my face. I licked them up greedily.   
  
"Heh, a tipsy Heero — just the way I like im," I grinned sadistically, pressing my back against the chair. I slouched a little, frowned, and let out a sigh. "Ugh, who am I kidding? Where _is_ he? Getting drunk is no fun alone."   
  
"Call his cell phone or something," the waitress advised. She arched her eyebrow at me. "You _do_ have your cell with you, don't you?"   
  
"Yeah, sure," I groaned, a hand on my forehead. I suddenly had a pounding headache. "Today just hasn't been my day," I complained, mostly to myself, as I twisted around in my seat, groping all my pockets in search of my mobile phone. "The _one_ day I get the nerve to tell him I want to take him home and _keep_ him there for good, he chickens out and doesn't show. The _nerve_ of that guy." My mutterings melted into low undistinguished grumbles that were accentuated with a word or two from my inner musings every now and then.   
  
"Duo, I'm sure whatever it is, it's not his fault," the waitress shrugged, pulling up a chair and sitting down with me at last. "The world does not work perfectly without a hitch."   
  
"Yeah, well _Heero_ does," I retorted bitterly, crossing my arms, momentarily abandoning my search for the wireless phone. No matter how sexy I was dressed, the pout on my face certainly rewound my life ten years. Hey, this was a tactic that _also_ worked quite well on Heero. "And the world will blow up before he's late by even a second on his own accord."   
  
She shrugged and said reasonably, "Well then you can bet that wherever he is, he's stuck and flipping out that he's, what, twenty minutes later than expected?"  
  
"Do you think he _died_?" I exclaimed suddenly, slapping both hands flat on the table and rising a little out of my chair. A mixture of alcohol and genuine worry was inebriating my sense of feasible reality. I hadn't even really paid attention to what I had just said. I swear that I have _sangria_ singing through my veins instead of blood nowadays.   
  
"Uh, _died_, Duo?" she looked at me with this extremely odd look in her eye and it was about then I realized I must have suggested something really stupid. She closed one eye and blew a strand of light brown hair from her eyes. "Duo, do you really think that _Heero_ of all people would just" — she waved her hands in the air — "randomly drop _dead_?"  
  
"You can _never_ be to sure with Heero," I said, just for the sake of saying something. "If it's the last thing you're expecting, there's a one hundred per cent chance he'll try it _just_ to confuse you!"   
  
"So if he up and told you he, say, _loved_ you or something," she had an almost _too_ innocent look in her eye as she spoke, like she knew something I wasn't in on, "would you be surprised or not?"  
  
"_What_ did you just ask?" I cried out, both palms pressed so firmly on the glass table top, I could feel them leaving sweaty smears on its crystalline surface. "If he told me _what_!?"   
  
"Never mind, Duo. Never mind," she chuckled in an almost nervous fashion as she shook her head. She plucked my empty glass from the spot where she had left it and climbed up to her feet just a bit too fast. I was really beginning to wonder what she had been thinking. Had Heero _said_ something to her that would bring that sort of idea to mind? Did he maybe.  
  
She was already walking back towards the restaurant to deposit the glass in the kitchen and perhaps even bring back that glass of juice she had promised me. "Hey, don't you turn your back on _me_, missy!" I shouted after her retreating back, though I knew I was much too lazy to get up and actually follow her. "Hey, I'm _calling_ you. What do you mean, If he told me he _loved_ me'? Hey!"   
  
_[Standing in line to see the show tonight,  
And there's a light on — heavy glow.  
By the way I tried to say I'd be there,  
Waiting for.]   
  
[Dani the girl is singing songs to me  
Beneath the marquee — oversold!  
By the way I tried to say I'd be there.]  
  
_"So she said to me, Don't you think that black is just a _hideous_ colour?' and I just _had_ to agree because, quite frankly, black is just _so_ evil and demonic looking to me," Relena was rambling on, smiling almost _too_ cheerily as she drove along. I don't think even _she _knew where we were going. I only half listening with a deaf ear. "Because I just think it's so morbid and depressing. Who could _possibly_ want _any_thing in black? It makes one look like a low-life punk off the streets — "  
  
"Don't say that!" I snapped her idle blathering finally sinking in. Along with red, Duo's favourite colour was black and he wore it almost all the time. And Duo was anything but a low-life. "Black is a very elegant colour. I rather like it."   
  
"Heero!" she exclaimed, spinning around dangerously in her seat to stare at me open jawed. It wasn't until I barked at her to watch the road that she turned around (I might add that I found myself reminding her of that far too much to be considered safe).   
  
I smirked darkly and added to my previous statement, "It's one of those colours only a few people can carry off. You need to have a certain sexy style to wear it well."   
  
"Are you saying I don't have style?" she asked, her voice indignant. If she thought I was trying to insult her, I decided that I didn't really care. She took in a big gasp of air and pouted, slouching a little bit as she gripped the steering wheel. (I will stop to mention that when _Relena_ pouts, it's not cute — it's just plain juvenile. But when _Duo_ pouts, well, let's just say I've had an increasingly hard time telling him no'. How _else_ do you think he got me spending the nights in his bed?)  
  
"You don't have a black' sort of style," I answered with a shrug. My voice was glib and somewhat snide and I was glad for it. I wondered for a brief moment if it was cruel to be toying with her this way and then promptly ignored it. What I said about her and the colour black (red too for that matter) was true. She would _not_ do well in black at all.   
  
"Well if _I_ don't have it, name someone who _does_," she said. I could tell by the tone in her voice that I had wounded her pride deeply and that my care for her feelings was hitting negative numbers about then.   
  
"Duo," I answered automatically. What could I do? She had set herself up for that one.   
  
"_Duo_?" she snarled. I could tell that the answer did not please her very much. I mentally patted myself on the back yet again. "Duo Maxwell does not have _style_, Heero. He's the exactly the sort of person I was talking about when I said that only _low-lives_ wore black."   
  
"If you think Duo is a low-life, then you really have no sense of the word style.' Believe me, Relena, Duo Maxwell has style," I returned, my voice a little indignant. "And you know, when I say Duo has style, I meant Duo has _style_. I mean, real genuine sex appeal."  
  
Wait — had I just thought that out loud? Shit.   
  
The car's tires squealed on the street as she wheeled the vehicle around a corner to a quiet side street and slammed on the breaks. Following the standard laws of physics, I lurched forward, almost falling flat on my face between the two front seats. My lightning fast reaction to grab onto the two headrests was the only thing that saved me from smashing my nose on the stick shift. As I slowly raised my hanging head up, I found myself met with two blazing light blue eyes.   
  
"What do you mean by _sex_ appeal?" Relena fumed, her cheeks red and her brows met in a bar of melted golden brown over her flaming eyes. "Duo Maxwell does _not_ have _sex_ appeal, Heero Yuy! Duo Maxwell is _not_ sexy!"  
  
"Have you ever _seen_ him in silk, with his hair loose?" I found myself retorting before I realized what I was saying. I bit my bottom lip hard enough to generate a tiny fount of blood and sunk back in my seat, trying to scoot as far away from him as I could, glaring at her.   
  
"No, I have not, thank you!" she snarled, picking herself up and settling down so she was sitting backwards in her seat, arms wrapped around the back of the leather-skinned chair. She was practically heaving with anger. I guess she really didn't like Duo. All the more reason to dislike her, I figured. "His hair is long and ratty and he's just skin-and-bones with a mouth that's too big and a brain that's too small!"   
  
I physically shuddered at the remark. No one talked about Duo that way and lived to tell about it. Here was this stupid obsessive woman who had virtually _kidnapped_ me and kept me from my date with the one most important person in my world and now had the _audacity_ to sit there and tell _me_ that he was ugly and stupid. I cynically found myself adding that I should have shot her way back when I had the chance.   
  
"Shut _up_!" I cried, rising up again and moving so I was radiating one of my best Omae o korosu' glare right down her throat. My nose was inches from hers, my face silently declaring war upon her. "You don't know anything about Duo. You never even bother to talk to him long enough to get to know him. How _dare_ you call him stupid? It might seem like all he does is rattle on and on about nothing, but if you ever stopped to _listen_ to what he had to say, I bet you just might be surprised."   
  
"He still looks like a _girl_," she said, her voice even and disgustingly grim. "He's one of those queer hippies."   
  
"Yes, one who _oozes_ with personality, which is more than what I can say for _you_," I argued back, feeling rage beginning to boil up inside. Her face twisted in a comically insulted expression. "And he is not a woman. He is a beautiful young _man_ with long thick brown hair that's soft to touch and a narrow body that is warm to enfold in an embrace. Get. Over. It." I punctuated the last three words for emphasis. Maybe she would get the hint and keep away from me forever, which was _still_ not long enough in my opinion.   
  
"I will not!" she scoffed indignantly, sounding as if _I_ had been the one to offend _her._ "Now it's all fine and good if you want to be his friend, but Lord help me if I let him try and manipulate you into something twisted and deranged."   
  
"What are you trying to say?" I challenged, my voice dark and foreboding. I suddenly didn't care whether or not she knew that I had a secret crush on my best friend. I didn't care if she thought it was disgusting or wrong or _what_ever. It was about time that she came to terms with my feelings — about time that I did the same as well. I was in love with Duo Maxwell, end of story. There was nothing else to it. Nothing less and nothing more.   
  
She ripped me from my inner musing in a most rude, most unexpected and _most_ unwanted way. I was brought back around to reality, my mouth half open as if to speak more, with the feeling of something damp being pressed against my lower lip. My vision blurred and focused repeatedly, slowly realizing that she had closed the gap between us and was now trying to kiss me passionately. She was doing all the work — I was too shocked and too disgusted to react at all for a moment.   
  
Then I got it together. In one fell motion, I tore myself away, wiping my lips with the back of my hand as I glowered menacingly at her. "Don't ever _ever_ do that again, Relena," I said so softly, it was almost a whisper.   
  
She frowned at me from her spot in the front seat and slid back a little, turning somewhat so she could grip the wheel with one hand. "What's wrong with you, Heero?" she asked, her tone somewhere between overly sugary and frighteningly sour. "Don't you like being shown affection? Don't you like to be kissed?"  
  
Unable to resist, I answered, "Yes, I do. Duo kisses me well enough."   
  
"Duo _WHAT_!?" she shrieked so loudly that I had to throw my hands over the sides of my head so my eardrums wouldn't burst. When the storm quieted, I slowly lowered my hands and reopened my squinted eyes, unclenching my jaw. She was breathing harshly, staring at me with a look that could be described as nothing other than either jealous, angry or both. "I can't believe you let him _do_ that to you."  
  
"I like his affection," I told her, far past only starting to get sick of this charade. Reaching for the door handle just to my right, I started to pull it. She noticed the movement and made a quick and desperate move to slam down on the automatic lock for the door, inhibiting me from opening the door and making my escape. I took my anger out on the lock with an angry stare before turning it in a more useful direction. "Let me out of the car, Relena," I growled, my voice that dangerously soft tone. "Let me out now."   
  
"No," she stated firmly, the slightest traces of panic riddling her voice. "I won't let you go to that that pervert!"   
  
"_He's_ a pervert?" I asked, arching my brow in an almost amused fashion at her. "You don't think that locking me in your car and _forcing_ yourself on me isn't perverted? Your obsession with me is sick, Relena."  
  
"His obsession with _you_ is what's sick!" she argued. Talking to me like that was going to be as good as taking to a brick wall. I was not very amused and the expression on my face sure as hell showed it. She kept moving her mouth though. I don't think she's ever heard of the word overkill.' No, definitely not. "Boys kissing other boys is just plain _wrong_, Heero. Do you hear me? It's _wrong_."  
  
"Please explain to me how _love_ is wrong." I said, still as serious and angry with her as ever. It was about time someone got her to acting like an adult and not a spoilt little rich kid who was used to getting whatever the hell she wanted the second she held her hand out.   
  
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, a flicker of genuine curiosity lit up her eyes before falling back into that upset and distressed politician's daughter.   
  
"I _mean_ that I." My voice suddenly hitched and faltered. Where had my courage gone? Did I really want to say what I had meant to say out loud? I think I finally realized the weight of what my words were going to be not only to her, but for me as well. Yes, I had toyed with the thought. I laid awake almost every night, just staring at the ceiling and wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with my supremely confused inner feelings. Then I would usually give up, roll over on my side and find myself looking at _him_ curled up next to me as he slumbered on peacefully. And every time, it would be at that moment that everything clicked and I understood. When I was with him it made me feel like I was whole again. "I mean that I."   
  
She just sat there expectantly, waiting for me to speak. I could see the words of reprimand already on the tip of her tongue, just waiting for her cue. She ended up just waiting for nothing. I was still silent, the only sound in the still air the sound of my heavy breathing. I think she got fed up with me at last, finally heaving out an exasperated sigh as she pulled her keys out of the ignition and unlocked her door, exiting the car and not forgetting to lock it after her, leaving me trapped inside the vehicle. Seeing this as a golden opportunity to steal back my pilfered mobile phone, I watched her through the window as she sat down on the curb and buried her head in her hands. I think, maybe, she was crying. Bent around the passenger seat, leaning forward to reach the glove compartment where she had hidden my cell, my eyes still on her balled up rocking form, I whispered to her, finally able to say the words I never could before, now that she was unable to hear.   
  
" I'm in love with him."   
  
_[Standing in line to see the show tonight,  
And there's a light on — heavy glow.  
By the way I tried to say I'd be there,  
Waiting for.]  
_I was dimly aware of my cell phone jumping gleefully in its spot on the table with its cheerful little ring tone. After finding that Heero did not have his cell phone on, I took to staring at the stupid thing for almost forty-five minutes, almost as if I was willing it to ring. Guess my psychic powers were finally paying off. Before it even had time to get halfway through its happy beeping, I had snatched the phone off the table, flipped it open, already shouting a frantically into the intercom. I don't know how I knew or if I was just getting ridiculously desperate, but after calling his name desperately into the phone, I heard his voice at last. I let out a heavy sigh of relief.   
  
"Duo?" His voice was hushed, almost whispered, and though he still spoke in that slow deep purr of his, I could tell he was feeling a little rushed and worried.   
  
"Oh Heero, it really _is_ you," I answered at the sound, almost ready to burst out into tears. Keep it hushed, but I'm the biggest damn crybaby you'll ever meet. Sometimes I think I even make little soft-and-tender Quatre look good. All that badass bullshit I try to pull is just that — _bullshit_.   
  
"I worried you." It wasn't a question, but a statement, like he knew that I had been sitting here and fidgeting my ass off with fret for the past hour.   
  
I resisted telling him damn straight that he had worried me, deciding that cynicism would be sorely out of place. I was too happy to hear from him anyway. "Aren't you coming? What _happened_ to you? You're _never_ late."   
  
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know I said I'd be there, but something came up." He seemed almost evasive, maybe even ashamed with his excuse. I really wasn't sure what to think. Yeah, I was upset he wasn't there and had failed to tell me, but then again, he was _Heero_, and I really have a hard time staying mad at him for more than ten seconds.   
  
"Last time I talked to you, you said there was something that you had to." Something suddenly clicked in my head for the first time. Maybe it was the sangria, maybe it was my anxiety over Heero's well being, or maybe some other unknown power entirely, but a great dawning had finally risen upon my horizons. And it was quite a beautiful sight to see. I finished off my sentence in a muted tone. "Something you had to tell me."   
  
The sound of harsh breathing filled the little coin-sized speaker pressed to my ear. I really wanted to know what was going on in his head right then. Maybe, in typical Yuy fashion, he was considering his options, weighing each possible response to my comment with their respective pros and cons.   
  
"Hee-chan?" I whispered into the receiver, trying to catch his attention again.   
  
"Nani?" he jolted from whatever he was thinking with a sort of bump in his voice.   
  
"What are you thinking about?" I had to know. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too nosy for my own good. I guess if I _was,_ Heero would have long since kicked my ass. Still, I sometimes get this feeling like I am.   
  
"What I had to tell you," he replied, his breath still sounding harsh and a little panicked.   
  
"What's that?" I pressed. I felt like slapping myself for being such a kid, but what was I supposed to do? He was setting himself up for me to ask! At least, that's how I justified myself.   
  
"Duo, I." He started to say before trailing off, almost like he had lost his nerve. I could feel my stomach muscles starting to scream at me to let out the breath I had not even realized I'd been holding. Relenting, I heaved out the gasp of air and returned to my normal breathing pattern, waiting for Heero to finish his thought. He did after a brief pause that seemed much longer than it actually was, but not exactly in the way I had hoped. "I think I would rather tell you when I see you," he said.  
  
I don't know if that was meant to be a way of pussyfooting around the issue or if it was something that important that saying it over the phone would just not do. I kind of hoped it was the latter. Besides, I think that Heero is a little to blunt to be one to pussyfoot.   
  
"Oh," I answered, trying hard to mask my disappointment with a little laugh. It kind of lifted my spirits somewhat, but only for a couple seconds. I had to cut to the chase again. "Are you still coming?"   
  
"I'm trying," he said, "but like I said, something kind of got in the way."   
  
"Like what?" There I go again, being all damn nosy. I made a mental note to have the waitress bitch slap me when she came back. I think I really deserved it — that or I'm a masochist. I grinned evilly for a second at that last thought — Heero would most certainly know the latter.   
  
"Like a certain Princess of Pink, who decided that kidnapping me and driving me across town would actually keep me away from you," he said. For a minute, I thought he was being sarcastic. Nowadays, it was hard to tell when he was joking or not. I think that was my fault. But when he failed to say anything else, as if waiting for a reaction from me, I realized that he was far from kidding.   
  
"You're serious," I gasped. Then annoyance and anger set in. I slammed my fist into the tabletop irately. "That bitch!" I growled, seriously pissed off at the thought that that damn tenacious brat could try and steal Heero for herself. She treated the poor guy like a puppy that needed to be housetrained. Dammit, I liked my wolves _wild_ and there was no way she was going to break him in — not if _I_ could help it! "Where did she take you?"   
  
There was a pause. I guess he was trying to figure that out himself. "Some little side street near Velvet Glove Avenue. We're stopped now, but she's kind of locked me in the backseat."   
  
"You can't get out?" I queried, totally shocked at this revelation. Since when was Heero ever trapped _any_where? "Where did she go?"  
  
"She's just outside on the curb," he told me. "I think I made her cry."   
  
"Good," I said, almost a little too quickly. I almost (_almost_) felt bad. "What did you say?"   
  
"What do you think?" I bet if I was sitting next to him, he'd be rolling his eyes at me. I guess that's how you know you've spent too much time with a person — when you can actually _tell_ what their facial expressions are even when they're sitting on the complete opposite side of town.   
  
"That you and me fuck like monkeys every night of the week," I supplied crudely, and sadistic smile creeping up on my face. While the comment wasn't _totally_ false, I wouldn't go as far to say that Heero and I have taken that step. We've gotten close. Really, really close, and I'll not say anymore. Let's leave it at serious petting and then some'.   
  
"Uh, not exactly, Duo," he said. He'd be starting to smirk about now. "I _did_ tell her that I liked kissing you among other things. But that was kind of the clincher."   
  
"Mm," I whistled low, before the actual meaning of what he had said sunk it. I bet he was even counting down in his head as to when I would get it. "Wait, you said _what_?"   
  
"That I like kissing you."   
  
"That's what I thought."   
  
"I do," he insisted.   
  
"Really?" My voice rose and fell, making me sound like a worried little girl. I sometimes wonder if he's using me to just get Relena off his case. Personally, I don't blame him, but I kind of like to know when I'm being used as a tool. Then again, I would never mind being _his_ tool.   
  
"I care for you, I really do," he whispered softly, trying to take the edge off the situation. "I really do."   
  
"Me too," I said, never being more sincere in my entire life. We sat there in awkward silence, just listening to one another breath for a while. I broke quiet with another one of my stupid comments. "Hey, Heero," I started. I could hear him stirring a little as my words jarred him from our dreamy silence.   
  
Suddenly, there was a noise on his end of the phone that sounded like the sounds of a car door being wrenched open and a girl shrieking, all mingled into one. I assumed that Relena had decided to resume her little joyride again and had found Heero talking to pretty little old me. He groaned audibly and shouted something I couldn't understand to Relena. I was shouting Heero's name into the phone, trying to get his attention again, but I wasn't even sure if he still had a grip on his cell; it sounded like they were fighting over control of the phone over there. There was a crunching noise and then the phone went dead, the dial tone humming softly into my ear.   
  
I clenched my jaw, deciding that Relena would _not_ be a happy camper once I got my mitts on her. I flipped my cell closed and opened it up again, my fingers already dialing Quatre's number.  
  
_[Dani the girl is singing songs to me,  
Beneath the marquee — oversold.  
By the way I tried to say I know you,  
From before.]  
  
_"Heero Yuy, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing!?" Relena screamed at me the second she reentered the car and saw me on my cell phone, obviously talking to Duo.   
  
I resisted the urge to deadpan her with some needlessly callous cynicism and ignored her, a tactical error on my part for she was suddenly lunging between the two front seats, trying to claw the stupid phone out of my hands. I think she even made me bleed with her stupid fingernails. I don't understand why superficial women feel the need to have them so long, like talons or something. Makes them seem even _more_ like vultures.   
  
"Get the fuck off!" I shouted at her, my anger finally snapping. It made not a lick of difference because the second I said it, she smacked me hard across the cheek. It wasn't the it really _hurt_, but the surprise I felt that she would actually raise a hand to me (or anyone for that matter), made me kind of go dumb for a minute. She managed to steal my phone yet again and made a huge production of turning the damn thing off, prematurely ending my conversation with Duo.   
  
Just for that I'm going to send her a Polaroid of Duo and I spending one of our more _colourful_ moments together.   
  
"Heero, have you _no_ respect for the feelings of _other_ human beings?" she sniffed, really starting to turn on the fake waterworks. I sneered at the irony of the comment and bit my lip, swallowing more sarcasm. I knew that I would end up retching it all up on her skirts later, but the longer I could stifle it, the better. "Why can't you just be _normal_ for once!"   
  
I sputtered, finding myself unsure of what to say. That sure was something new. I found myself wavering somewhere between anger and plain shock. She was _so_ fortunate I had the plain decency not to hit girls. _So_ fortunate.   
  
"Well?" She had this expression in her voice that sounded like she thought I _owed_ her some kind of response. I had half a mind to just tell her the truth that I was _sorry_ I couldn't be the perfect soldier she had sitting on a pedestal.   
  
"Well what?" I snarled, crossing my arms and sinking lower in the seat. "I don't have any explanation for you, Relena, if that's what you're after, other than the fact that I am who I am, and if you don't like it, that's just too bad. I'm not changing just to please _you_. There are plenty of other people who like me just fine the way I am."   
  
She had nothing to say to that, mostly because I was right and there was little she could argue with that wouldn't make her look stupider than she already did. I faintly registered the sound of her keys jangling as she reinserted one into the ignition and restarted the car, the calming rumble of the engine pulsing throughout the vehicle.   
  
"Where are we going _now_?" I asked sardonically. I was almost afraid to know.  
  
"Somewhere," she answered, her response probably being the wittiest thing I had ever heard her say. I guess her rage had a good effect on her personality, twisted as that might sound. Call me crazy, but I have a thing for sarcasm.   
  
I was just about to say something snide in return when the sound of squealing tires caught my attention. I twisted around in my seat to look out the rear window to see what had made the noise. What I saw was a combination of exciting, strange and outright insane. I could see Duo with a sort of demonic look in his eye, sitting in the driver's seat of Trowa's red jeep, his foot obviously flattening the accelerator to the floor as he drove. Trowa himself was sitting in the passenger seat, gripping the side of the car tightly as if the slightest waver would loosen him enough to send him flying out into the wind. I could see poor Quatre cowering in the back, his arms wrapped around the back of Trowa's chair as he poked his head between the two front seats in an effort to see what was going on ahead. I smiled to myself, glad that Duo had taken the initiative to do something.   
  
"That rat bastard!" Relena growled to herself when she noticed just _who_ was tailing us. "Won't he _ever_ stay away from you?"  
  
"You seem to be the only one who wants to keep him away from me," I retorted in a bland monotone. "Now I think it would be in your best interest to pull over and let me out before Duo does something detrimental to your health. I'll tell you right now he's a maniac behind the wheel."   
  
"I'll show him just who you belong to," she muttered more to herself than to me. That comment kind of bothered me. Since when did I become merchandise that could be claimed'? And since when did I have a giant bumper sticker on my forehead that read Property of Relena Peacecraft'? I decided I'd rather shoot myself first. In the back of my mind, I also noted that I had a sinking feeling like I might be the victim of a mass carnage road accident before this day was through, be it at Duo's hands or Relena's.   
  
It was about then that I discovered that life really is not fair at all. All I asked was one afternoon with Duo, a light meal and maybe (.) a heavy make out session afterwards that would leave us panting half-naked under his bed. Was that really so hard? Apparently so, my inner voice added sardonically. I was really beginning to get a little desperate.   
  
Turning my head so I could see out behind the car again, I found that Trowa's jeep was no longer behind us. I was starting to get a trifle panicked when the sound of an angry engine roared along to road to my left. I snapped around to look out the side window, relieved to see the jeep speeding alongside Relena's vehicle down the avenue. Duo's driving skills really were something to be desired. At present, he had one hand on the wheel, the other shoving Trowa into the back seat with Quatre in a rather comical display that left Trowa stuck with his feet in the air and his hands flailing about. When he realized that Trowa wasn't going to move with out a little more help, he let go of the wheel entirely and turned to shove Trowa head over feet onto Quatre's lap, his foot still pressed firmly on the accelerator, throttling the jeep onwards. At this rate, I wouldn't have anyone to spend my evening with after all. I really hoped he wasn't drunk....  
  
Damn that cynical voice in the back of my head.   
  
That out of the way, he thankfully replaced his hands on the steering wheel and let out an aggravated sigh. Then he turned towards me, noticing that I had been watching him from the prison of Relena's car with avid interest, and grinned devilishly. In my experience, that grin meant one of two things. One, he was in a flirtatious mood or two, _evil plan_. I seriously suspected the later.   
  
"What is he doing?" Relena shrieked, jerking the wheel of her own car so that it flew over a few lanes in a commotion of squealing tires and screaming breaks, only to find Duo to follow closely, keeping the two vehicles as close as possible. "If he thinks that I'm going to give up so easy."   
  
I hate that woman.   
  
I ignored Relena for the moment and returned by attentions to Duo and the jeep. He was motioning at me with one hand, gesturing for me to somehow make it from Relena's car to the now vacant passenger seat beside him. Only Duo would think of something so ridiculously crazy and expect it to work. I guess that's what kept him so damn interesting.   
  
Needless to say, I liked it.   
  
Finding that Relena had managed to lock the windows so that I couldn't roll mine down, I settled for the next best thing. I reeled back my elbow and smashed it through the window, no longer caring that it was a friggin' Bently. I ignored the bloody ribbons that the shards of glass made out of the sleeve of my shirt and used my bare hand to wipe away the rest of the mess. Relena was still screaming at me for my "infidelity" but I had long since stopped paying attention. Bracing myself, I crawled up, scrunching myself into the opening in the door and launching myself forward, breaching the gap between the two speeding cars. Duo eased his foot off the gas and let go of the wheel again to lurch over towards me as so to ease my landing. Thank God I had extremely good precision, or I might have ended up a very gross piece of road-kill.   
  
I watched as Relena's car sped off down the street, staggering to a halt at the next traffic light. I could see her leaning out of the driver's window and staring at our car angrily. Just to thank her for the most entertaining ride, I grabbed Duo around the waist and pulled him partially into my lap, guiding his lips towards mine as I kissed him roughly, yet lovingly, unable to help the grin that spread on my face.   
  
"You're late, Hee-chan," Duo whispered against my mouth before leaning in to kiss me again.   
  
"I know," I answered, truly sorry for all this mess. I looked up at him in his eyes, noting the clear amethyst sparkle in those large irises and realized that for all my bad luck, I sure had enough fortune to have someone like him to kiss and hug whenever I wanted.   
  
"Next time," he said, pulling himself back into the driver's seat and returning his gaze to the road, a very pleased grin on his face, "_tell_ me when you're going to have trouble with one of our dates. I'll pick you up."   
  
"It's the thought that counts, I suppose," I quipped, careful to buckle my seatbelt tight. Duo's driving couldn't be much safer than Relena's. "Though next time, I propose a nice quiet evening at home. We'll even order Chinese."   
  
"Sounds good," Duo agreed with a laugh. He leaned forward over the wheel as he started to nudge the jeep onwards towards the traffic light. "Hey, speaking of Chinese," he suddenly added, his eyes narrowing a little as we got closer, "isn't that old Wuffers that's getting into Relena's car there?"  
  
I looked in the same direction as Duo. "Yeah, so it is," I agreed with a low whistle. "Poor guy doesn't know what he's getting into."   
  
"No one ever does," Duo replied, speeding through the red light, right past Relena's parked car. He threw in another comment that I couldn't help but grin at. "But hey, isn't that what makes this fun?"   
  
"Yes Duo," I agreed. "It is."   
  
_[Standing in line to see the show tonight,   
And there's light on — heavy glow.  
By the way I tried to say I'd be there,  
Waiting for.]  
  
***************  
  
_**Owari**  
  
*************  
  
**A/N** ~ Written for the Spring 2003 Moments of Rapture contest and posted here in honour of August 6's amazing Red Hot Chili Peppers concert! Guess who was there singing all the words to all thier songs! LW was! Whaha! (Guess another one of my favourite bands, hehe... Oh! We can make this a game!) See yas all later. I have a few other things here and there to keep you busy till my next story is finished... if it's ever finished....  
  
Oh, and randomly, PS. I'm working on a site--not the point--but I was thinking of drawing that infamous Zelda sequel into a comic. If I did, would any of you buy it? If you want to see a sample of some of my stuff, e-mail me and I'll try and get it to you! Just want to see if it's worth the effort!   
  



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